


[the one with the cats]

by LtTanyaBoone



Category: Cardinal (TV 2017)
Genre: Cats, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-10-23 10:33:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17681792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LtTanyaBoone/pseuds/LtTanyaBoone
Summary: Lise and Danielle ending up with a bunch of cats.





	[the one with the cats]

**Author's Note:**

> i made [a post](http://cometocourtyou.tumblr.com/post/176418061047) about a headcanon that lise and danielle from [comme des diamants au ciel](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15052739) end up with a bunch of cats and decided to elaborate. just some snippets of what their lives might be like. you can find pictures of the cats in the post. technically, odin looks a bit different, but i couldn't find an image of a cat looking exactly like him.
> 
> import from tumblr

Between her wife and their cat, Lise isn't entirely sure which one is the more pathetic one.

Goblin (yes, that name was Danielle's idea, and yes, she is the one responsible for the vet visits) is wearing one of his Christmas sweaters, curled up in her lap, purring softly.

Lise sighs and reaches down to scratch his head. It makes the cat open an eye, give her an expectant look. She arches an eyebrow at him wordlessly as his purr cuts off and he just stares at her, waiting.

"Fine," Lise sighs and starts petting him with a long suffering sigh. The cat remains silent, for a moment, before his eye closes again and he begins purring again, a rather smug expression on his face.

If anyone had told her a year ago that one day, she'd have a Sphynx cat in her lap who's wearing a Christmas sweater, she'd have laughed in their face. Turns out, she's an absolute sucker for the guy. Especially given that they'd stumbled across him when he'd been a kitten and his eyes and ears had been so big and wrinkly and he'd just looked so pathetic at the shelter, wearing a cut-up sock.

She knows Danielle is trying to get her to say yes to a playmate, for Gobby. She's been dropping "hints" all month. The thing is, Lise is not entirely convinced that Goblin would tolerate another cat. He's very, unamused, when he finds he has to share their attention with another human. She doesn't want to imagine the kind of terror he'd unleash on another feline.

Though maybe he's that way because he is lonely and starved for attention. Maybe another cat would help, with that. Keep him entertained and occupied. It might even mean that they get the bedroom back to themselves. Oh yes. For the past four months, Goblin has been sleeping in the bedroom. Though Lise is using that term loosely. He keeps interrupting their sleep by meowing because something spooks him, or because he's too hot, or too cold, or hungry, or, worst of all, attention starved. It took her almost two months, to get him out of the bed again, after Danielle had allowed him to sleep in it one night. In that sense, he really is a greedy little goblin who will take your entire arm if you even think of giving him a finger he might sink his claws into.

"Why is it so cold?" Danielle asks as the blonde finds her way downstairs, to their living room. She's still in her PJs, her hair horribly messy from sleep. She reaches up and rubs her eye, watching Lise with a sleepy-confused expression.

"Because I turned off the heat in the bedroom," Lise shrugs.

"Why?" her wife whines and walks over. Curls up next to her and pulls the blanket off the back of the couch, so she can curl up in it.

"Because you were sweating in your sleep!" Lise laughs and leans over to brush her lips over her forehead. "Seriously, how can you stand it being so warm?" she asks her, watching her wife for a moment. Danielle shrugs and opens her mouth, but only lets out a loud yawn.

Goblin lets out a chirp of surprise and turns onto his back. Glares at her and swats at Danielle's hair, drawing a hiss from the blonde when his claws tangle in it and he yanks his paw back.

"Hold still," Lise sighs and grabs the strand of hair, carefully untangling the cat from it.

"Aw, look at you," Danielle mutters as she beams at the cat. "Aren't you a cutie, in your Christmas outfit? Look who's managed to stay clean all day! What a good boy you are, yes you are, yes you are," she babbles and Lise rolls her eyes. She'd have thought any cat would declare her wife a horrific monster when she baby-talks at him, but Gobby actually seems to enjoy it. Attention whore that he is.

"Wait until he's had his breakfast," Lise chuckles, causing Danielle to pause and give her a look, before she shrugs.

"There are more where that one came from," she declares and settles down again.

"Exactly what I was afraid of," Lise mutters and scratches Goblin's chin. She's putting up with the sweaters because it is kind of cold, in the house. She's wearing long-sleeved things, as well, so she's not cold, so she's not going to make the cat shiver or turn up the thermostat for him. In the warmer months, he does okay without them, but in winter they are kind of necessary. Plus, she has to admit, the reindeer print on this one is kind of cute.

"Got him one with Santa for Christmas Day," Danielle giggles, drawing a mixture of a groan and a laugh from Lise. "Hey, you said you didn't want him in those grubby socks!"

"Yes, I did," Lise admits. Aside from them being ugly, they'd easily unravelled, especially once Goblin figured out that it was a surefire way to get them to take them off him, if they caught him playing with a thread on it. Funnily enough, once they started putting him in the cat sweaters with the prints, he gave up on that. Almost as if he actually likes them.

"Do you know, what an Oriental Shorthair is?" Danielle asks her, after a while.

"Please tell me you haven't been looking at cats again."

"I haven't been looking at cats again," Danielle replies earnestly. Lise casts a look at her face.

"You're lying," she sighs. Her wife shrugs and reaches out to take her phone. She unlocks it and goes to the browser. Pulls up the shelter, and selects the 'Prospective Adoptees'.

"Her name is Princess," Danielle declares and shows Lise the picture of a white cat with huge ears, and a comical nose.

"No," she declares immediately. "Definitely not. Especially not with that name."

"We changed his," Danielle reminds her. She's right. Before they adopted him, Goblin's name had been 'Artus'. Sometimes, Lise thinks she should have let him keep that, instead of giving her wife the power of selecting a new one.

"Please, Lise. Please, please please please-"

"You sounding like a very spoiled child is not going to change my mind," she informs Danielle. "On the contrary," she adds at her wife's sceptic look. Danielle slowly sits up and looks at the display of Lise's phone, her lip between her teeth.

"She's beautiful," she murmurs softly. "I thought we agreed, that he needs a companion-"

"I am sure that Goblin would eat Princess for breakfast," Lise quips and shakes her head. "Look," she adds, calmer. "I have no idea, if Sphynx cats and Oriental Shorthairs are compatible, trait-wise. Nor do we know, if these two would like each other. I'm not getting a second cat to have the one we already own snap and start tearing shit apart."

Danielle lets out a soft sigh and puts Lise's phone down again.

"Sorry," she apologizes softly. Reaches out and gently scratches Goblin's tummy. "I don't want him to be..." she starts, her brows furrowing. "Neglected? Lonely? Miserable?"

"He's not," Lise argues. "He's got us. And he has us wrapped around his greedy little paws, doesn't he?" she asks pointedly as the cat begins to purr again, basking in Danielle's attention.

* * *

She must have went wrong somewhere, Lise thinks, as she feels the weight tug on her leg. With a sigh, she reaches down and pries Wendy from her leg. Picks her up and offers her a perch on her shoulder.

The sensation of the cat's naked trail curling around her neck makes her shudder as Wendy rubs her head against Lise's face.

"Brat," she sighs and grabs the bag of food to fill the three bowls sitting on the counter. When she's done, she pauses, and then grabs the bag of treats and offers one to Wendy. The cat jumps from her shoulder onto the counter and scarfs it down, watching Lise expectantly.

"No," she shakes her head and scratches her chin. "Your siblings will kill me, if they find out I'm pulling favorites," she tells her.

Which may be the truth. Goblin absolutely detests when he thinks Danielle or Lise give more attention to one of the other two. He'll scream at them until he is petted and played with to his satisfaction.

If anyone asks, Lise will deny having a favorite. She loves all three of them. Goblin was their first cat and he will always hold a place in her heart. And Odin is so cute, with his big ears and funny nose, and the dot of black fur on his forehead and the dark tip of his tail on his otherwise white coat. He's still not entirely used to them, still has moments when he gets spooked by either Goblin or Wendy. Lise would accuse Danielle of having gotten her will, since Odin is an Oriental Shorthair, but it was actually her, who fell in love with the guy when she'd seen him in the 'Please Adopt Me' part of the newsletter they get from the shelter.

But Wendy, Wendy holds a special place in her heart. She was so small and sickly, when they got her, having been found outside. The vet had cautioned them that there was a very real chance, of her not making it. She'd been riddled parasites, had pneumonia, and her left eye had been glued shut by an infection. She's pretty much blind on that side now, they've found. Like Goblin and Odin, she's extremely clingy and will perch on either Danielle or Lise's shoulder when they're doing something around the house that means she can't be in their lap. And she has the strangest meow. It's a mixture between a honk and a scream. The first few times they heard it, both Danielle and her thought something was wrong with the cat, that she was in pain, or scared, until they figured out that no, that's just her voice.

Lise thinks Goblin bullies her, for that sound. He keeps swatting at her when she does it for too long, and Lise wants to just hug Wendy and cuddle her and tell her she's perfect with her honking scream.

"Ready to gorge yourself?" Lise asks the cat and picks her up. Puts her on the floor and grabs the food bowls so she can place them in the cats preferred spots. Goblin eats by the door, Wendy has hers in the bathroom, and Odin's spot is beneath the window sill in the living room.

Odin abandons his play with Danielle the second he sees Lise with his bowl. He almost manages to trip her by winding around her legs as she walks over to his tray and sets down his bowl.

"Not hungry?" Danielle asks with a laugh when Wendy comes in and goes straight for her. Rubs herself against her and honk-screams in reply. The blonde reaches out and touches her thin shirt. "You need a bath, huh," she mutters softly. "And a fresh outfit."

"Please stop color-coordinating them," Lise quickly says. "I keep catching a glimpse of either her or Gobby and get confused."

"Alright," her wife laughs. "It's happened to me, too," she admits. "I was folding up laundry the other day and thought I was losing my mind because they kept passing by the door. I felt like I was seeing double," she shakes her head with an amused smile.

Wendy lets out a chirp and goes over to Odin's bowl. Sniffs his food, and Odin leans back, watching her, his tail twitching.

"Ten bucks says she gets whacked," Danielle whispers. Lise rolls her eyes at her. Between Goblin and Odin, the Oriental is the more tolerant one. But he has little patience when it comes to his food, and Lise sees him slowly raise a paw. Wendy pauses and ducks her head, slinking away.

"You have your own bowl," she reminds her. "What's wrong with your food?" she inquires and picks up the cat. Scratches her chest and kisses her forehead when Wendy closes her eyes in appreciation.

It took them some time, to realize that Odin is somewhat of a social eater. He doesn't go for his bowl unless either Lise or Danielle are in the room with him. They've tried if having one of the other cats around him would help, but it doesn't. Aside from them pissing Odin off when they try to go for his food, it hadn't accomplished anything, he still hadn't eaten. Hence why his bowl and water dishes are in the living room, increasing the chance of him being able to eat in peace with either or both of them around.

Maybe Wendy isn't hungry. Maybe she's saving her food again. Lise decides to give her some more time, to see whether she goes for her bowl. If she doesn't, they'll take her to the vet in a few days, and switch her back to her high-calorie food to prevent her from losing weight again. They'll just have to make sure that Goblin and especially Odin don't get their paws on that food, as well.

* * *

"Yes, yes, I know," Lise says, flinching when Wendy lets out a particularly loud scream as she pushes her to the side carefully and closes the door behind her. Odin keeps slinking around her legs and she's ready to call for Danielle, so she doesn't fall over him.

"Will you stop?" she sighs and lowers the bags of groceries she picked up. Put them down on the floor and crouches down so she can greet the cats, get them to calm down and leave her some room.

Goblin is strangely absent, from the greeting. It makes her tilt her head and wonders where he went. If he destroyed something again and is hiding in an attempt to escape punishment. Not that they do that, especially not when neither Danielle nor her have seen which cat did it.

"Come here," Lise sighs and picks Odin up and pets him. Kisses his head and cuddles him, as she feels Wendy glowering at her. The Sphynx sits back and starts licking her paws, acting like she doesn't care, though Lise doesn't miss how the cat keeps her in her sight at all times. As soon as Odin is out of her arms, she runs over and clamours to be in her lap. Lise shakes her head and scratches her head gently, strokes her sides as Wendy rubs herself all over her, a strangled purr coming from her. She sounds like a snoring giant with a head cold when she purrs.

"Hello," Danielle greets her, Goblin perched on her shoulder when she walks over. Slowly bends down to kiss Lise and then picks up a bag to get it to the kitchen and begin to unload them.

"Someone's, clingy," Lise observes when she joins her a few minutes later with the rest of the groceries and sees Danielle holding Goblin and cooing at him.

"He's limping," she tells her. "I think he fell off the cabinet, when we were out." she sighs and gently bounces the cat before kissing his bald head. "I want to take him in, if it's not better by tomorrow."

"Is it one leg, or..." Lise frowns, suddenly worrying that the guy might have hit his spine on the counter on his way down.

"Front left," Danielle nods. "He's not licking it, but not putting weight on it, either. He was giving me this really miserable look when I came home, sitting there in the hallway and crying out," she mutters, a sad expression on her face.

"Poor baby," Lise mutters and reaches over to pet Gobby. He's been climbing up on the kitchen cabinets for a few days. They've only been in this house for two weeks, the cats are still kind of getting used to the place. The cabinets they had before were lower, easier to get up onto, and easier to come down from, too, with the kitchen windowsill as an in-between station, plus there'd been a table they could have used to jump down onto, as well. But this place doesn't have that, and Lise is starting to think they'll either have to put some shelves up, or add a border to the cabinets to keep the cats from getting onto them. She hasn't seen either Odin or Wendy try to get on them, but Goblin has. The other day, he got stuck up there, yelling because he couldn't figure out a way to get down.

She really hopes that this is just a sprain, and not a more serious injury.

* * *

"Shit! Motherf-!"

Lise starts at the loud yell from her wife. Drops the laundry basket and runs towards where the yell came from, to find Danielle curled in on herself on the couch.

"What is it?" she breathes and hurries over, crouching down in front of her.

"He jumped on me," Danielle hisses, her eyes clenched shut, hands between her legs. Lise looks over to see Odin peeking out from behind the armchair, ears flattened to his head as much as he can.

"Oh darling," she whispers and reaches out to brush Danielle's hair from her face as her wife moans in pain. Lise checks her watch and hesitates before leaning in to kiss her cheek.

"I'll be back in a second," she promises. Hurries to the kitchen, to grab an ice pack and a bottle of water, along with Danielle's pain meds.

She's stopped rocking herself, when Lise returns to the living room. Her hands are out now, clutching at one of the cushions.

"Here," Lise mutters and hands her the ice pack, which her wife gingerly puts to her crotch, a hiss of pain leaving her. "Want some?" Lise asks her, rattling the bottle of pills gently.

"Yes, a hundred times yes," the blonde mumbles. Slowly sits up and grimaces in pain. "I am murdering him," she declares as Lise hands her two pills and opens the water for her. "Goulash is on the menu tonight," her wife mutters darkly. It makes Lise let out a soft chuckle as she sits down next to her. Gently reaches down and repositions the ice pack, drawing somewhat of a relieved sigh from Danielle.

"I'm sorry he did that," she tells her and brushes some of her curls away from her face. Her wife swallows and gives a slight shake of her head.

"He didn't know it would hurt me," she sighs, looking over to where Odin is still cowering. "Sorry, baby," she mutters and reaches out her hand. "I didn't mean it. No goulash."

Their cat decides that he's better off, leaving them alone, and slinks from the room in hurried steps.

"None of them ever jumped on me like that," Lise frowns, before remembering Goblin landing on her crotch once, having been spooked by loud thunder. That had been, unpleasant. She doesn't want to imagine what it's like, for Danielle. How much having Odin land on her privates probably hurt, given her current state.

The cats went a bit, crazy, while she was gone for a week. Not that Lise blames them. She found it hard, to be without Danielle. Found it especially difficult, given the reason for her absence.

She seems, happy, though. Lighter, somehow. And she's so, so happy for her wife. That surgery went well, that the flight back wasn't too bad, for Danielle. That she seems to be recovering well.

Danielle asked her, if she wanted to see the pictures, but Lise told her no. She'd rather wait, until Danielle is ready to let her see the real thing. However long that may take.

"Hm," Danielle lets out a soft sigh and leans back against the couch cushions.

"Starting to work?" Lise asks her and watches as the blonde nods.

"Yes. Sweet relief, how have I missed you," she jokes. She's only been taking the pain meds for sleeping since she got back from Toronto. At least the prescribed ones. Lise knows she's taken some ibuprofen at times, but most of the time, Danielle tries to do without.

* * *

"Okay, so," the vet starts, looking at the notes. "Wendy, Odin and, Goblin?" he frowns and Lise bites back a groan as Danielle snickers.

"Gobby," she offers. "Her idea," she adds and points at her wife, drawing a laugh from the vet.

"It's not the strangest name we've had," he assures them. "Though it's a strange combination, I suppose. I mean, a children's book character, a Norse God, and a fantasy creature."

Lise tilts her head a little at the statement. She's never really looked at it that way. Goblin and Wendy were their choices, Odin already came with his name and they thought it fit him well enough, so they kept it.

"Okay, which one shall we do first?" the vet asks, causing Lise and Danielle exchange a look, before she lifts Wendy's carrier onto the table.

"Wendy," she declares and opens it carefully and lifts the cat out. "It's okay, darling," she murmurs to her as the cat scrambles to get up onto her shoulder, eyes wide. "I know, I know," she mutters and gently removes her claws from her shirt and sets her down, holding her still.

"Any concerns?" the vet asks and Lise shakes her head no as he listens to her heartbeat.

"She's been eating fine, and doesn't seem sick," she shrugs.

"Which eye is the one-"

"Left side," Lise tells him. "Her left," she amends at the vet's look. Watches, as he checks it carefully, Wendy letting out a hiss and shaking her head to escape his grasp.

"It does look a bit cloudy," he nods. "She's completely blind, on that side?" he asks and Lise exchanges a look with Danielle.

"Our previous vet assumed she is," Danielle answers. "But we think she may be able to see a little? Like, tell the difference, between light and dark. Maybe see some rough outlines? She does duck, when something comes flying at her from that side, like a toy," Danielle says and reaches out to gently pet Wendy, who's trying her best to shrink, to make herself smaller.

"Ah," the vet nods. "Do you think it bothers her?"

"Not really," Danielle shakes her head.

"I think she had some trouble, when we moved. Ran into the doorways a handful of times, when they were playing. But she seems alright now," Lise shrugs. "She's able to find her way around, climbs, plays, eats... I never got the impression that it was causing her pain or anything like that."

"That's great," the vet smiles. "Her skin looks nice, too," he compliments. "Any irritations or stuff like that?"

"No," Lise shakes her head.

"Good. So, ready for your shots?" he asks the cat. If Lise didn't know better, she'd think she sees Wendy's eyes widen even more. The cat lets out her honking scream and tries to climb up on her again.

"How is she, with these?" the assistant asks Lise. Danielle hands her a towel wordlessly and Lise wraps the cat up in it, to prevent her from sinking her claws into her skin. She doesn't try to bite, but Lise had the unpleasant experience of a very panicked cat scrambling up her front and down her back before, and it's one she can do without repeating.

"My, aren't you a cutie," the assistant coos upon seeing Odin. It makes Lise let out a soft laugh. He is cute, she agrees, but it never ceases to amaze her, how people who don't particularly care for Wendy and Gobby will just melt at Odin.

"He's a rescue, as well?"

"They all are," Danielle nods, gently restraining him from jumping off the exam table. "We got him when he was still mostly a kitten," she adds and scratches Odin beneath his chin, drawing a purr from the Oriental.

"He looks a bit on the, heavy side," the vet says carefully as he examines the cat, and Lise finds herself blushing a little.

"We tried clicker training. He's very, food motivated," she offers weakly.

"We ended up having to hide the clicker. They were all very, insistent, on their rewards, but he actually went and grabbed it. He'd follow us with it and step on it and then scream at us, until he got his treat," Danielle explains, drawing a bark of laughter from the vet.

"Gotta love Pavlov, huh?" he chuckles with a shake of his head. "But yeah, Orientals can put on weight pretty fast."

"He's actually a social eater," Lise says. "Like, he won't eat, unless Danielle or I are in the same room. He'll yell at his bowl and scream at us, but he won't touch his food."

"How about when the others are around?" the assistant inquires.

"We tried that," Danielle shakes her head. "He's, unimpressed. Goblin hates when someone's around when he eats, so we had to separate them, anyway. Wendy doesn't particularly care either way, so we figured we'd feed them together, but no, Mister Norse Mythology here requires the attendance of his human servants," she sighs. Odin chirps at her and bumps his head against her stomach, rubbing up against her.

"We moved his feeding spot to the living room. That solved the issue, mostly," Lise offers.

"I'll have someone at the front desk give you some food recs, for him" the vet offers. "I know they're indoor cats, so unless you want to leash-train him and take him for walks to get exercise-"

"Oh no," Lise shakes her head at the same time Danielle does.

"Low calorie food it is," her wife agrees.

"Sorry, buddy," the vet apologizes. "So, his sister claws. Any warnings, for this one?"

"No, he's a very good boy. Aren't you?" Danielle smiles and holds him down as he gets his shots, Odin letting out a short yowl before resigning himself to his fate.

"All done," the vet declares and Lise lifts their cat up and puts him back into his carrier as Danielle gets out Goblin.

"Oh, someone's dressed up," the vet remarks as Danielle puts the cat down.

"He's been awful about licking himself," she sighs. "He'll do it until his skin is all red and raw. Hence," she gestures at the thin sweater she's put him into. They tend to leave Wendy and him naked, during the warmer months, but his skin has just been getting worse, and he won't stop licking, even when he's in either one of their laps.

"Aw, poor guy. Let's have a look, shall we?" the vet mutters and carefully pulls the sweater off. "Oh boy," he mutters at the sight of Goblin's chest. Lise flinches, as well, her heart aching for their boy.

"We've tried bathing him regularly, switched shampoos, gently rinsed him off. We've changed his food, as well, we thought it might be allergies..." Danielle trails off.

"Any big changes, lately?" the vet asks, gently pulling Goblin's paw away when the cat goes to lick that. "That may have coincided, with this happening?"

"I had, surgery," Danielle mutters, her brows furrowing. "It was pretty big. I was gone for a week, and after that it took awhile, for me to recover."

"I'm going to make a wild guess and say he's more attached to you, than he is to your wife?" the vet gives her a look, and Danielle nods.

"Wendy worships Lise, and Odin's kind of, both our baby, but Goblin prefers me, yes," she confirms. "Are you a little neurotic anxiety ball?" she asks him with a sigh.

"I'll give you some cream, to put on the worst spots. Try to see that he doesn't lick it off, it's not toxic, but it's not great if he keeps eating it, either," the vet warns them. "Aside from that, keep doing what you're doing. Put him in something that prevents him from licking incessantly at his skin. Offer him distractions, play with him, cuddle, maybe even try reading to him. Sphynx cats, like Orientals, are very intelligent. I'm sure you've noticed that already. But that also means they notice changes more than other cats might, and if it's something they feel like they have no control over, it can really upset them."

"Poor Gobby," Danielle mutters and kisses his head, drawing a meow from their cat.

* * *

Lise sits back and watches as Odin slowly sneaks closer on an unsuspecting Wendy, who's just cleaning her paws. She reaches up to keep herself from laughing and drawing the attention of the cats, presses a hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle.

Wendy lowers her paw and turns her head to start on her back, and Odin uses that moment to pounce on her, sending them both tumbling on the floor.

"Brat," Danielle laughs, Goblin curled up on himself in her lap. He's been a lot better, about his incessant licking. So much so that they keep him out of his shirts now, when they are home. They still put something on to prevent him from hurting himself when they're gone, and just by the state of his clothes when they've returned, Lise still thinks it's necessary. The other day, the front of Goblin's sweater was soaked with saliva when she came home, Danielle having left for a meeting already.

Odin has been somewhat of a pest, these past few days, annoying his siblings with play fights all the time. To the point where Goblin has started seeking refuge with Danielle, hissing at the Oriental when he dared approach them.

They've been trying to distract him, have played with him and done some more tricks and training. It's better, today, he's only mildly bothered Goblin earlier, and Lise thinks Wendy can do with someone putting her in her place every so often. She seems to enjoy the playing right now, at least, so Lise is not inclined to step in and separate them.

* * *

Lise gently strokes Wendy's back and watches as she licks her nose, looking miserable.

"No, nothing that we can see," Danielle sighs and reaches up to pinch the bridge of her nose, holding her cell phone up to her ear.

"I know, love," Lise murmurs when the cat lets out a pathetic sound. She quickly grabs the bowl when Wendy gags again and then throws up, causing Lise to pull a face.

"Can I, get back to you, on that?" Danielle asks and then signs off, drawing a deep breath. "We can either wait, until morning, or bring her in now," she tells Lise, having been on the line with the vet clinic.

Normally, she'd be inclined to wait until morning, but Wendy's been just absolutely miserable for the past few hours.

Danielle and her were in the bedroom, when they heard the retching down the hall. She'd been pissed, at first, thinking it was Odin hacking up a hairball, but instead they'd found Wendy in front of a puddle of vomit.

"I don't know," she sighs. "I mean, she does look worse, doesn't she?" she asks Danielle, deciding to trust her wife's judgment. She tends to, overreact, when Wendy's health is concerned, Lise is well aware of that. She just loves her so much and she's been through such a horrible ordeal already, she doesn't want her to have to go through something like that ever again.

"Compared to when it started? Yes," Danielle confirms. Frowns, at the cat, for a moment. "Let's take her in," she declares after a moment's consideration.

"Okay," Lise nods and slowly stands, to get Wendy's carrier as Danielle calls the clinic to let them know they're coming in.

* * *

"Will you stop?" Danielle laughs and tries to shove Goblin away from the counter where she's attempting to fix dinner.

"Hey, pest," Lise calls, jiggling one of the balls they have for the cats with a bell inside. Goblin looks up, ears going as he looks for the source of the sound, but then decides that whatever Danielle is doing is much more interesting. Plus, it involves food.

"Jesus, you're being a real pain," the blonde declares and plucks him up from the counter to put him onto the floor. The cat lets out an indignant scream at the treatment, not used to Danielle turning him away.

"You're hurting my feelings, Gobby," Lise sighs dramatically when the cat ignores her completely, going back to Danielle and trying to climb up on her. The blonde lets out a hiss of pain as his claws dig into her leg. Bends down and picks him up, an exasperated sigh leaving her.

"You are a little shit," she declares, but still kisses his head, drawing a meow from Goblin. Lise shakes her head at them and goes to wash her hands at the sink, figuring that she'll have to take over dinner prep now.

Sure enough, Goblin keeps demanding Danielle's attention the entire time, the woman unable to set him down again. Even on her shoulder, he keeps rubbing his face against hers and meowing loudly.

* * *

Lise lets out a soft sigh and slowly blinks open her eyes. And finds Odin's face inches from hers, causing her to let out a yell of surprise. It makes the cat jump and scurry off the bed as Lise sits up sharply.

He returns a moment later, tail moving slowly as he sits down and watches her.

"What?" she asks him and rubs a hand over her eyes. "What do you want, huh?" she inquires as he keeps staring. Lise slowly lowers her hand and tilts her head at him, Odin mimicking the gesture. She gives a slight shake of her head and reaches out to pet him briefly, before she gets out of bed to relieve herself. And finds a note taped to the bathroom mirror, telling her Danielle was called into work.

That explains why Odin woke her, Lise thinks and washes her hands, splashing her face with water.

"Are you hungry?" she asks him when she steps from the bathroom and finds him sitting right by the door. Odin lets out a yell and sprints down the hallway, disappearing down the stairs briefly, before he comes back when Lise doesn't immediately follow him.

"Yes, yes, sorry," she mutters and heads downstairs. Grabs a mug of lukewarm coffee, for herself, before she heads into the living room. Odin immediately goes for his bowl and begins to scarf down his food, gagging.

"Hey," Lise shakes her head and gently pulls him back, forcing him to take a moment. "Slow down, no one's taking it away," she assures him as she lets him go again.

* * *

Danielle's making kissy noises at Wendy, who watches her briefly, before she tugs her head under Lise's chin, a honk leaving her.

"Jerk," Danielle murmurs and sticks her bottom lip out in a pout.

"As if Goblin doesn't treat me exactly the same way," Lise chuckles, pointedly looking at the Sphynx curled up against Danielle, napping with a rather blissed-out expression on his face.

Odin is sprawled at the foot of their bed, undoubtedly enjoying the heated blanket Lise switched on for the Sphynxes. She has half a mind to turn it off, but he seems rather happy about having conquered the warm spot, for a change, without his siblings trying to shove him off it.

Lise feels Wendy beginning to purr softly and pets her, kissing the cat's head and receiving a lick on her chin in return, before Wendy also falls asleep as soft snores drift over from Odin.

"Maybe we should have opted for the baby," Danielle muses, her voice low so as not to disturb the cats. "I mean, taking care of one infant would probably have been easier than wrangling these three."

"Maybe," Lise replies softly, shifting a little to get more comfortable as she finds herself growing sleepy as well. "But I think I like our three 'kids' just the way they are."

"Yeah, me, too," Danielle sigh happily and reaches out to take her hand.

* * *

It's funny to her, how Odin will linger around in the bathroom when they are bathing the Sphynxes, but seems to have a sixth sense when it comes to knowing exactly when he's supposed to be the one receiving a bath, and then manages to hide for hours.

"Yes, we are very cruel," Lise nods as Odin lets out a yowl that nearly makes her ears bleed and tries to scramble from her arms again.

"Will you stop it? I swear, I will take you to the groomers and have them shave you, you little dirty goblin," she frowns at him when he continues to scream and flail around as she tries to get a better hold on him, so she cat put him into the tub without losing a limb or him falling onto the rim.

Danielle flinches at the volume of another scream and moves aside to give Lise more space. She finally manages to get Odin into the tub and lets out a ragged breath as Danielle turns on the water and fills the colander they use to wet him. He doesn't like having his body submerged, nor does he like it when they use the showerhead on him.

"I swear, he's the worst," Danielle murmurs and carefully pours the water over their cat, Odin yowling and trying to get out of the tub again. Lise shakes her head and puts him back, trying to calm him with some petting, but it doesn't seem to help, at all.

Danielle sets the colander aside and grabs the shampoo for Odin's fur and sets about scrubbing him. He's usually good, about cleaning himself, but one of the cats knocked over a flowerpot today, and he just rolled around in the earth, resulting in a desperate need for a bath. Funnily enough, both Goblin and Wendy look clean. They got some dirt on their paws, which was easy to clean, but neither one of them required a bath, like their reckless, dirt-loving brother.

"Odin!" Lise exclaims as he slips from her grasp and makes a mad dash around the tub, sending the showerhead flying, water shooting up and drenching both Lise and Danielle, since Danielle hadn't completely shut off the water.

"You piece of shit!" the blonde laughs and manages to get a hold of their cat again, hugging her to him. She's wet now, anyway. Danielle sets him back down into the bathtub and blows a curl of hair from her face.

"Can you..." she starts and Lise grabs the showerhead and turns up the water, deciding to skip the colander and rinse Odin off this way, hoping it will get it done faster.

He seems to resign himself to his fate now. He still yowls, but has stopped struggling and trying to escape, at least. When Lise shuts off the water, he gives her a miserable look and she does feel bad, for him. For doing this to him. But he kind of did put himself in this spot.

She grabs a big towel and wraps him up in it, starting to dry the cat off, to more meowing complaints about this undignified ordeal.

"There, all done," she declares after a while, when Odin seems sufficiently dry. He jumps off her as soon as she takes the towel away and shakes himself off before running from the bathroom. Probably to hide, again.

"Cheeky monkey," Danielle shakes her head, having cleaned the tub in the meantime. "And what do you want, Mister?" she addresses Goblin when he joins them, jumping up onto the sink and watching them with interest. Danielle raises the showerhead, aiming in his direction. "Quick rinsing?" she suggests. Goblin merely watches her, his tail flicking briefly, and she lowers the showerhead again with a sigh.

"He knows when you're bluffing," Lise chuckles and pats Goblin's head briefly before putting up the towel to dry.

"You are just too intelligent for us, aren't you?" Danielle coos and picks Goblin up, making kissy noises at him. Lise could swear that the cat gives her a 'Help me!' look, before he resigns himself to having his front showered in kisses. If she so much as though about attempting this with him, Goblin would claw at Lise's face and hiss at her, and she wouldn't expect anything else. But he's an absolute glutton for Danielle's attention, no matter how ridiculous.

Then again, she's pretty sure some of the things Wendy's put up with from her would have gotten Danielle her eyes scratched out, had she tried them.

_fin._


End file.
